Book-sewing machine.



F. emu-:3. v BOOK SEWING MACHINE.v APPLICATION FILED JULY 17. 1913.

Patented Sept. 145, 19 15.

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Ill/VENTOR ATrbm/Hs WITNESSES F. GAILER.

500K SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 17, 1913.

WITNESSES l/VVE/VTOR fZ/"ahu/M/ 50/49,"

Br I I r ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 14, '1915.

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F. GAILER.

BOOK SEWING MACHINE. APPLICATION.FILED JULY 17. 1913.

15153,?75. Patented Sept. 14, 1915.

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. FERDINAND GAILER, or'ivnw YORK, N. Y;

BOOK-SEWING macn mn.

Specification of Letters Patent. 1 Patented Sept. 14, 1915 Application filed July 17, 1913. Serial No. 779,49}.

To all who-riaz't may concern: v

Be it known that 1, Feminism) GAILER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of 'New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State. of New York, have invented a new and Improved Book-Sewing. Machine, lowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved book sewing, machine for, sewing signatures and fly leaves or linings together in a "cry simple and efiective manner and'without requiring the employ ment of highly skilled labor.

In order to accomplish the desired result use is made of a reciprocating sewing needle, a stitch-forming mechanism operating in conjunction with the said sewing machine needle, and a signature carrier for holding superimposed signatures and for feeding the same step by step under said sewing needle to pass slantingly through theuppermost' signatures to the back thereof and to then form stitchcswith the said stitch-forming mechanism at the backs of the signatures. Fee is also made of a presser foot capable of working on top of the uppermost signature or between the lining and the first and. last signatures when uppermost, and in order to insure a positive formation of the stitch use is made of a needle guide to cause the stitch-forming mechanism to take the loop at each descent ofthe sewing needle.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the book sewing machine; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same with the signature carrier removed; Fig. 4 is an enlarged front face view of the needle guide;. Fig. 5 is a rear face-view of the the same on the line 66 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a plan view of thesame on the line 7"(' of Fig. 6-; Fig. 8 is a front elevation ofthe superimposed signatures with the liningin position thereon and with-' the needle in lowermost position extending through the section; Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional side" of which the fol is a sectional side 'elevation of elevation of the book sewing machine on the line 99 of Fig. 10; Fig. 10 is a plan view of the same with parts. in section on the line 1010 of Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a plan view of the spring presser foot; Fig. 12 is a transverse section of the signature carrier 1n posltion on the bottom of the guideway,

the section-being on the line 1212 of Fig. j

'1; Fig. 13 is a sectional plan View of the same on the line l3-13 of Fig. 12; Fig. 14 is .a rear "face view of the needle support in section;'and Fig. 15 is an enlarged side elevation of the locking device for temporarily locking the signature carrier in step'by step position on the bottom of the guideway.

The book sewing machine is mounted on a suitably constructed stand A on the top of whichis secured the base B of a sewing machine B of any approved construction; it being deemed sufiicient to state that the sewing machine is provided with a vertical reciprocating needle C and a stitch-forming mechanism D operating'in conjunction with the sewing needle in the usual manner for forming the stitches so that further description of the same is not deemed necessary.

The properly assembled signatures forming a book are superimposed and clamped in this position on a signature carrier F mounted to slide transversely on a guideway Gr attached to the stand A.- The signatures F are supported in such a manner that their backs are at an angle to the path of the sewing needle 0 so that the latter passesslantingly through, at least, the two uppermost signaturesE to carry' the sewing thread down.'through the back of the signatures to be looped with the shuttle thread (not shown) by'the stitch-forming mechanism B to completethe'stitches at the backs. of the signatures a distance below the upper-.

most signature, as will be readily. understood *by reference to Fig. 9.

In case the signatures E are of heavy paper itl is desirable to provide an easy passage of .the sewing needle C through the uppermost signatures as described, and for this purpose use is'made of a hole punch 1 (see Figs. 3 and 14:) arranged a distance in front of the sewing needle C- (say half an inch) and reciprocating withthe same to punch a slanting hole in the uppermost signatures for .the subsequent passage of the sewing needle C on feeding the carrier F rear-' wardly a distance corresponding to the distance between the sewing needle C and the hole punch I. The hole punch I is removably attached to a bar I secured at its lower and upper ends to the needle bar O of the sewing machine, see Fig. 14:.

Theguideway G is constructed as follows:

A ledge G" is secured to the stand A with its face at an angle to the sewing needle C,

' as plainly indicated in Fig. 9, and from the face of the ledge G extends at a right angle a supporting plate or bottom G provided with nuts G extending through slots G formed in the ledge G to guide the bottom G when moved up or down on the-ledge G. In the nuts G screw screw rods J journaled in suitable bearings arrangedon the under side of the ledge G, and the lower ends of thescrew rods J are provided with gear wheels J in mesh with bevel gear wheels J secured on a transverse shaft J 3 ournale'd in suitable bearings-arranged on the back of the ledge G The front end of the shaft J is provided with a hand wheel J (see Fig. 1) under the control of the operator to permit the latter toturn the shaft J 8 with view to rotate the screw rod J .to move the bottom Gr upward or downward accord-.

ing to the direction in which'the' hand wheel J 4 is turned. By the arrangement described the bottom G can be minutely adjusted up or down to suitthe aggregate thicknesses of the superimposed signatures E to be-sewed together at the time. It is understood that the uppermost signature must always be immediately below the point of the sewing needle C at the time the latter is in its uppermost position, so that the carrier F can be shifted transversely and the needle point on the descent of the sewing needle passes through several'of the uppermost signatures in order to finally reach the stitch forming mechanism D. The outer portion of the bottom G is provided at the under side with a bearing G engaged by an angular lugK' held on the upper end of a screw rod K screwing in the upper end of a turn buckle K in the lower end of which screws a screw rod K forming an angular lug K engaging a bearing K attached to the upper end of a standard A" forming part of the stand 50" A. When the bottom G isadjusted up or down the turn buckle K is turned correspondingly so as to provide a suitable support for the outer end of the bottom G to hold the latter steady while moving the sig- 'nature carrier F transversely on the top of the bottom G The upper surface of the bottom G of the guideway G is provided with transversely-extending rails Gr on which travel rollers F to.permit easy transverse moving of the signature carrier F. On the bottom F 2 are arranged superimposed filling pieces or plates F on the uppermost of which rests the lowermostsignature- E, it being understood that the backs of the signatures E as well as the filling pieces F abut against the face of the ledge G so as to hold the signatures at an angle tothe sewing needle O.

In order toaclamp the superimposed signatures E in position on the uppermost filling piece F of the carrier F, use is made of a clamping plate F attached to the underside of a cross bar F 5 loosely guided on upright. pins F (see Fig. 12) attached to the front and rear ends of the'bottom F 2 of the carrier F. A spring'F 'is coiled oneach of the rods F and is interposed between the bottom F 2 and the'bar F 5 to normally hold the bar F 5 raised and with it the clamping plate F to allow convenient changing of the position of the signatures E, as hereinafter more fully described.

In order to move the clamping plate F into clamping engagement with the uppermost signature, use is made of eccentric cams L secured on'the shaft L journaled at its ends in bearings L vertically slidable on the pins F and secured against upward movement by locking pins L each extending through one of a series of openings in the corresponding pin F. Onthe shaft L is secured a handle L under the control of th'e'operator for turning the cam shaft L with a view to cause the cams L to move the bar F downward to engage '-the clamping plate F 4 with 'an uppermost signature to vide a step by step movement with a view to I space the stitches equal distances apart'use is made of the following device: On the upper face of the bottom G and at the outer end thereof is arranged a transversely-extending barGr provided with notches G spaced equal distances apart corresponding to the distance between the sewing needle C and the punch I, and the said notches G are adapted to be engaged by a lug N (see Fig. i

15) formed ontlfe free end of the lever N fulcrumed at N- on a plate N secured to the bottom F 2 of the signature carrier F (see Figs. 1, 2, 9, 10 and 15). The lever N is provided with a finger piece N- adapted to be pressed by the operator to swing the lug N out of engagement with a notch G and the said lever N is pressed on by a spring N held on the plate N and adapted to hold the lug N'norm'ally in engagement with a corresponding notch G On the plate N is pivoted a locking catch N adapted to be swung into engagement with the finger piece with the corresponding notch G Normally- N at the time the latter ispressed downward so as to lock the lever N in position with'the lug N raised and out 'of engagement the lever N'- unlocked and the lug N is'in engagementwitha notch-G to hold the signature carrier F against transverse, move-- ment, and'after a stitch is completed the op- I 1 erator presses'the finger piece N to unlock the signature carrier F. When this has been done, the operator pushes thesignature carrier F rearwardly until the lug N snaps into thenex't notch G preparatory to actuating the sewing machine for making another stitch.

' Onthe front end of the botto m.-F of the signature carrier F is mounted a gage O for the front ends of the filling pieces F and.

, e the signatures E to abut against (see Figs.

1, 2, 12 and 13). .The gage O is provided with an angularbase plate 0" resting on the upper surface of the bottom F and the said base -plate O is provided with guide slots 0 engaged by screws-O screwing-in the bottom F3 to slidably hold the gage O in position on the signature carrier F. The lever- P is fulcrumed at P on the bottom F and is arranged on top of the base 0, and the said lever is provided with a pin P engaging a slot 0 formed in the base 0. The pivot P extends through the slot 0 and is adapted to pass through a slot-O arranged parallel to the slots 0 Now on imparting a swingtion from forward to rearward is given to 'the lever P ing motion-to the lever P in the direction ofthe arrow a,-shown in Fig. 13, a sliding mo 7 tance, and the operator now shifts the filling plates F 3 and the signatures E toward the front until they abut against the gage O'so I that the next 'row of stitches will be intermediate the previous row of stitches.

A presser foot Q bears down on the uppermost signature adjacent the sewing needle O at the time the latter descends and passes through the hole previousl made by the punch I. The'presser foot (3 is in the form vof a spring secured atits right-hand end to Q attached to the base B of the and the free end of the presser foot Q is provided with a recess Q (see Fig. 11) for the passage of the sewingneedle C. An arm Q bears on the presser foot Q'near the free end thereof and this arm Q is secured to a plate Q slidingly engaging guideways R provided with trunnions R journaled in bearings R attached to the base B of the sewing machine B. The plate Q is provided with a slot Q1 ena, block gaged by a clamping bolt R held on a connecting plate R connecting the guideways R with each other." By thisarrangement the plate Qfis adjustably secured-"in position on the guideways R. In order to cause the arm 8 to bend the presser foot 'downwardinto engagement with the uppermost signature E use is made of a lever S engaging the under side of the connecting-plate R of the guideways R, as plainly slfown in Fig. 9. .The lever S is-fulcrumed at S onthe base B of the sewing machine and'is connected'with a spring S attached to'the overhanging arm of the sewing machine'to normally hold the "lever S out of position with the connecting plate R The lever S is also connected by a link S with a treadleSunder. the control of the operator and fulcrumed on the lower portion of'the stand A? When it is desired to cause the presser foot to beardown on the uppermost signature E then the operator presses the treadl'e S "so as to cause the. lever S to swing and thereby impart an upward swinging motion to the guideways R carrying the plate Q and the arm Q whereby the latter bears down on the presser foot Q and bends thesame downward into firm contact with the uppermost signature. 1 This is don'eimmediately prior to the descent of the sewing needle C. and after the sewing needle C has made its .full stroke and formed a stitch with the stitch-forming mechanism D and returned to uppermost position, then the operator releases the treadle. S to allowthe spring S to return the lever S to normal inactive position, whereby the presser foot Q, by its own resiliency swings upward out of engagement with the uppermost signature E, thus releasing the same and allowing convenient shifting of the signature carrier F for making the next stitch.

The sewing needle 6 during its descent passes through the open-ing. in the needle plate T attached to the face of the ledge G, as plainly indicated in Fig. 9. vThe needle v after passing through the needle'pla'te T engages a needle guide U, shown in detail in Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7. This needle guide U Q 5 prevents the needle from bending in any direction, thus insuring a positive formation of the stitch in conjunction with the stitchforming mechanism D. The needle guide Uis attached to the under side of the ledge G and is provided at its upper end withan angular lug U having an eye U in register with the opening in the needle plate T so that the needle C passes through the said eye U 2 and into a tubular groove U formed in the needle guide U. A slit U leads from the groove U to the face of the. needle guide U opposite the stitch-forming mechanism D, to allow the shuttle thread to pass through while forming the stitch with the sewing thread H. The slit U is preferably proyided with downwardly-converging side walls, as plainly indicated in Fig. 5, so as to provide sufficient room for the loop. when' the latter is drawn'up by the tension devices of the sewing machine.

In order to support the sewing needle C .above'the signatures E use is made of a support cV having an opening V for the passage of the needle C, as plainly indicated in Fig. 14. The support V extends laterally fronia bar V mounted .to slide'vertically in a guideway B forming part of the head 13 of the-sewing machine B. The bar V is provided with a key V engaging a slot in the-guideway B to hold the bar V and consequently the support V from turning. The bar V is provided with an upwardlyextending reduced portion V terminating in a head V mounted to slidein a bearing B arranged above the bear ng 13 and for1ning part thereof. A spring V is coiled on the reduced portion V and rests with its lower end on the bottom-of the guideway B and presses with its upper end on the head- V to normally hold the'support V in an uppermost positions The support V is a distance below the lower end of the needle bar C at the time the latter is in uppermost position, and when the needle bar C moves downward it finallyengages the support V and carries the same along against the tension of the spring V so that the support V supports the sewing needle C above the uppermost signature to prevent wabblingof the needle during its passage through the uppermost signature.

On the rear of the head B of the sewing machine 1s arranged a cutting devlcepreferably in the form of a pair of scissors V,

one blade of which is provided with a dovetail tongue TV slidingly fitting a correspondinbly shaped groove in a block W attached to the rear end of the head 13 of the sewing machine. By the arrangement described the blade with the tongue WV is fixed and the other blade moves into open orclosed '-position relative to the said -fixed blade on the operator manipulating the handles correspondingly. Thehandles of the blades extend upwardly and the handle of the fixed blade rests on a bracket W arranged on the head 13. The cutting de-' vice permits the operator to conveniently cut off the sewing thread H aftera row of stitches has been made, as hereinafter more fully described.

As shown in the drawings, the sewing machine Bis actuated by hand'and for this purpose the main shaft 13 of the sewing machine is provided with a hand wheel ,B adapted to be turned by the operator, it being understood that one revolution of'the shaft B causes a full down and up stroke of the sewing needle C to make a stitch in conjunction with the stitch-forming mechanism D. On the "stand adjacent the hand wheel B (see Fig. 2) is a'rrangeda spring I catch X adapted to engagea keeper X held on the hand wheel B at the time the sewing- ,neeclle Cis in uppermost position 'to lock the sewing machine shaft B :against accidental turning while shifting the signature carrier F, as hereinafter more fully eX- plained. It is understood that sufficient power is exerted by the operator on the hand wheel '13 to disengage the spring catch Xfromthe keeper X to allow of turning the hand wheel' B for making one stitch at a time.

The operatlon 1s as follows: When the sewin needle C is in u ermost osition and the shaft B is temporarily locked against rotatioii by the catch X then the operator can conveniently slide the signature carrier F to the front of the guideway G so as to clear the needle C. The operator swings the handle L into an upward position to allow theclamping plate F to move upward by the action of the springs F. with a viewto permit the operator to place the superimposed signatures E in position onthe top of the filling plates .F and with the backs of the signatures abutting against the face of the ledge G. When thls has been done, the operator swings the lever L down ward so as-to clamp thesignatures in place bythe clamping plate F The operator now pushes the signature carrier F rearwardly until the superimposed signatures are a short distance, say quarter of an inch, beyond the hole punch I, and then the operator unlocks the lever N to engage the lug N with the corresponding notch G The operator next presses the treadle S so as to cause the presser foot Q, to bear firmly down onto the upper surface of the uppermost signature adjacent the back thereof, as

plainly indicated in Fig. 9. The operator now gives one revolution to the hand wheel B so that the hole punch I punches a slanting opening through the uppermost signatures. The operator now unlocks the lever N by pressing the finger piece N downward and then the operator slides the signature I carier F rearward until the lug N drops into the next following notch G of the bar G.

.The sewing needle C is now in register with the hole previously punched by the hole punch I. The operator 'now again actuates the treadle S to cause the presser foot Q to bear down on the uppermost signature adj acent the needle and then the operator gives punched another hole slantinglythrough the uppermost signatures in front of the sewing The operator next unlocks the signature carrier F and pushes the same rearsaid si natures the same as previously explained.'relat ive to the first stitch. Theabove-described operation is repeated until the several signatures are sewed together in the manner'above mentioned. It is understood that prior to shifting the carrier F the operator releases the treadle S so asto allow the presser foot Q, to move out of contact with the uppermost signature. In practice, the stitches are repeated at the first two holes at each end of the signatures. After the upper-most signatures have been sewed together, the operator moves the carrier F to the front clear of the sewing needle C, and.

then the operator swings the lever L* 11p'- ward into open position to raise the clamping plate F The operator now removes the lowermost signature from the pile of superimposed signatures and places the same on top, after which the lever P is swung from the position to the position shown in full lines in the same figure, so. as to move the gage Qa quarter of an inch away from the front ends of the signatures E to the front until they abut with their ends on the gageO, and then the lever L is again swung downward to clamp the superimposed signatures in position on the carrier F. The above described sewing operation is then repeated, that is, the carrier F is moved rearwardly and the now superimposed signature is sewed onto the previously sewed uppermost signatures, the .-g

' abutting against the said ledge, a spring bar only difference being that the stitches pass through the uppermost signatures intermediate the previously made stitches. The several signatures are sewed together in the manner described, that is, the lowermost is removed at the end of each sewing operation and placed on the top ofthe signature until the series of signatures are sewed to; gether, it being understood that after each full sewing operation the gage O and the signatures are shifted to stagger the stitches of succeeding signatures. When it is desired to., sew a lining or a fly leaf E to the first 'or last signature of the book, then such fly loaf .E is placed in position by the operator on the uppermost signature, as indicated in Fig. 8 with the fly leaves on opposite sides of the needle C- and the back E of the lining in contact with the uppermost signature intermediate the adjacent edge o t shown in dotted lines in Fig. 13

signatures E. The operator now pushes the curelyfastened together to insure the. formation of a strongly bound book, after the cover is attached in the usual manner.

It is understood thatwhen the signatures E are of comparativelysoft paper t e hole punch I is dispensed with and the ewing needle C now makes its own hole through the uppermost signatures on the descent of the needle bar C.

It will be noticed that. by arranging the presser foot Q; to engage the uppermost signature directly at the back margin, the signatures are firmly held in place while the needle C passes through the uppermost si'gnatures and while the stitch is formed at' the back of the signatures so'that the signatures are firmly sewed together and an effeet is produced corresponding to hand overcast sewing-and oversewing and whipstitching.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim as.new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: r

'1. In abook sewing machine, the combination with a reciprocating sewing needle and cooperating stitch-forming mechanism, of a guideway having a fixed ledge at an acute angle to the line of travel of the sewing needle, andhaving a bottom approximately at a right angle to the said ledge, a signature carrier mounted to slide step by step on the said guideway and adapted to support superimposed signatures to be sewed toether, the signatures having their backs fixed 0n the said guideway bottom and proapart, and a spring-pressed catch on the said signature carrier and adapted to successively engage the said notches.

2. In a book sewing machine, the combination with a reciprocating sewing needle and cooperating stitch-forniing mechanism, of a guideway having a fixedledge at an acute angle to the line of travel of the sewing needle, and having a bottom approximately at a right angle to the said ledge, a needle plate in the said ledge for the needle to pass through, a needleguide on the underside of the said ledge in alinement with the said needle plate and the stitch-forming 'mechanism to support the needle while the stitchis formed, and a signature carrier mounted to slide step by step on the said guideway cooperating stitch-forming mechanism, of a ,guldeway having a fixed ledge at an acute angle to the line of travel of the sewing needle, and having a bottom approximately at a right angle to the said ledge, a needle plate in the ,said ledge for the needle to pass through, a needle guide fixed onthe under.

side of the ledge and having an eye and a groove extending from the said eye for receiving the needle toguide the latter to the stitch-forming mechanism, and a signature carrier mounted to slide step by step. on the said guideway and adapted to supportsuperimposed signatures to be sewed together, the signatures having their backs abutting against the said ledge. a 4. In a book sewing machine, the combination with a reciprocating sewing needle and cooperating stitch-forming mechanism, ofa guideway having a fixed ledge at an acute angle to the line of travel of thesewing needle andohaving a bottom approximately at a right angle to the said ledge, a signature carrier mounted-t0 slide step by step on the said guideway-and adapted to support superimposed signatures to be sewed together, the signatures having-their backs abutting against the said ledge, and an adjustable I signatures I a spring-pressed catch gage at one end of the said signature carrier to allow shifting of the superimposed prior to starting a new row of stitches;

5. In a book-sewing machine, the combinationwith a reciprocating sewing needle and cooperating stitch-forming mechanism, of a guideway having a fixed ledge at an acute angle to the line of travel of the sewing needle, and having a bottom approximately at a right angle to the said ledge, a signature carrier mounted'to slide step by step on the said guideway and adapted to support superimposed gether, the signatures having their backs abutting against the said ledge, a barfixed on the said guidewaybottom and provided with notehes spaced equal distances apart, on the said signature carrier and adapted to successively engage the saidnotches, a gage mountedto slide on one end of the said carrier, and means for shifting .the the carrier a distance corresponding to one half of the distance between adjacent notches in the said bar.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the two subscribing witnesses.

FERDINAND GAILER. Witnesses THEO. G. HOSTER, PHILIP D. .RoLLHAUs.

said'gage lengthwise of signatures to be sewed topresence of 

